Tecos announce change at manager

With six games remaining in the regular season, the Tecolotes Dos Laredos announced that third base coach Rafael Rijo will take over for Alfonso “Houston” Jiménez as the manager of the club.

Jiménez became the manager of the Tecos on May 18 for Felix Fermin, whose team was 21-16 to begin the season. The Tecos went 36-41 under Jiménez’s leadership and are now 5.5 games back of the fourth-place Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican Baseball League’s North standings, which is 2.5 games outside of the threshold to force a wild card game.

The Tecos and Saltillo meet up once more Tuesday-Thursday in Saltillo for the final series of the regular season. The magic number sits at four, and while the Tecos do control their own destiny from here on out, they could be eliminated with two losses this weekend to the league-leading Acereros de Monclova. Saltillo draws a three-game set against a 45-68 Generales de Durango team that sits in seventh place in the division. In nine meetings this season, the Tecos are 5-4 against Saltillo, but Saltillo won two of three the last time the two faced earlier this month — including a 15-3 rout in the series finale. Any combination of wins by the Saraperos and losses by the Tecolotes totaling four this weekend would eliminate the Tecos before the teams meet.

Jiménez’s tenure ended with the club losing eight of the last nine games. The only win during that span came in comeback fashion as the Tecos won 11-9 at Monclova Sunday. But the team has been dealing with a multitude of issues in recent times as the mumps contagion spread around the clubhouse - infecting star designated hitter Balbino Fuenmayor (who has since returned) and the pitching coach before now reaching rookie pitcher Luke Heimlich. Starting pitchers Michael Mariot and Kenneth Sigman both left the team due to “personal matters.”

“The leadership of the (Tecolotes) appreciates the dedication and professionalism of manager Alfonso ‘Houston’ Jiménez and wishes him success both in his personal and professional commitments,” the team said in a translated press release.

Before joining the Tecolotes organization, Jiménez was all over the professional baseball landscape. After a career that began at 16 years old and later making a few stints in the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins, he became a player-coach for Saltillo in 1999 and then managed teams like the Guerreros de Oaxaca, Diablos Rojos del Mexico, Toros de Tijuana, Pericos de Puebla and Olmecas de Tabasco.

His resume also features inductions into both the Caribbean and Mexican Baseball Hall of Fames.

Rafael Rijo

Rafael Rijo

Photo: Courtesy Of The Tecolotes Dos Laredos

Photo: Courtesy Of The Tecolotes Dos Laredos

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Rafael Rijo

Rafael Rijo

Photo: Courtesy Of The Tecolotes Dos Laredos

Tecos announce change at manager

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Rijo is the fourth person to become the Tecos manager since May of 2018. Before Fermin and Jiménez, Eddy Castro had the reins of the club from 2014 before being fired following a 15-24 start to the 2018 campaign.

Castro was once a mainstay in the Tecolotes’ organization. He was with both the Tecos and Rojos del Aguila - where the team played in Veracruz ahead of the move to Laredo and Nuevo Laredo - and compiled a 206-273 record as the manager.

Rijo was hired as a batting coach and third base coach to begin this season. He also played professionally in the minor leagues for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers before playing for Laredo in 1995 in the Texas-Louisiana League.

He was lauded by Jiménez throughout the year for his work with Tecos hitters. They are currently fifth out of 16 teams in home runs (160) and led by the power of Fuenmayor, whose 31 long balls are the fourth-most in the league and only behind former big leaguer/Monclova sensation Chris Carter (47), Puebla’s Danny Ortiz (38) and Oaxaxa’s Alonzo Harris (37).